Page 154 - Politics
Mamata to skip all-party meet, demands white paper on 'One Country, One Election'
Indicating that she would skip the meeting of presidents of all political parties convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday wrote to the Centre saying it should not go about "hurriedly" on a "sensitive and serious subject" like 'One Country, One Election'.
Yogi welcomes conviction of four in Ayodhya terror attack case
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Tuesday welcomed the conviction of four persons by an Allahabad special court in the 2005 Ayodhya terror attack case in which two civilians were killed and seven CRPF personnel injured. On the acquittal of one person in the case, he said the state government would take appropriate action after examining the ruling. An Allahabad special court Tuesday sentenced four persons and acquitted one in the terror attack case. "The court judgement is welcome. For one person who has been acquitted, the necessary action will be taken after taking legal opinion. The government will keep an eye on the case," the CM said in a statement here. Special Judge Dinesh Chandra also imposed a fine of Rs 2.40 lakh on each of the convicts, public prosecutor Gulab Chandra Agrahari told reporters in Allahabad. The terror attack on July 5, 2005 had left two Ayodhya residents dead and seven security personnel injured. Five JeM terrorists were eliminated by security ...
Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary named Congress leader in Lok Sabha
Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary was on Tuesday named as leader of Congress in Lok Sabha by UPA chairperson and Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi, party sources said.
Mamata not to attend party chiefs' meet, asks govt to prepare white paper on simultaneous polls
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday excused herself from the scheduled meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the chiefs of political parties in Delhi on Wednesday, while asking the Centre to prepare a white paper on "one nation, one election", instead of doing it "hurriedly". Modi has invited the heads of all the political parties that have at least one member either in the Lok Sabha or in the Rajya Sabha for a meeting on June 19 to discuss several issues, including the "one nation, one election" idea, celebration of 75 years of Independence in 2022 and the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi this year. It will be followed by a dinner-meeting with all the MPs on June 20. With 22 Lok Sabha members, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Banerjee, is the fourth-largest party in the Lower House of Parliament, along with the YSR Congress, which also has 22 members in the Lok Sabha. With 303 MPs, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the largest party in ..
BJP's Om Birla surprise pick as LS Speaker (4th Lead)
Om Birla, BJPs two-time MP from Rajasthan, is the NDAs nominee for the post of Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha and is set to be elected on Wednesday, with at least 10 parties, including outside the BJP-led coalition, committing their support to his candidature.
All you need to know about new Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla
Om Birla, the 56-year-old nominee of the NDA for the Lok Sabha Speaker, is a second term BJP MP from Kota in Rajasthan, and was a legislator for three terms in his state where he was also a Parliamentary Secretary in the Vasundhara Raje government more than 15 years ago.An agriculturist and social worker, the low-profile leader has been active in politics from his student days and served as state unit president of the Bhartiya Yuva Morcha in 1991 and as vice-president at the national level.Birla was elected to the 17th Lok Sabha from Kota where he defeated Congress' Ramnarain Meena by over 2.5 lakh votes. He was elected to the last Lok Sabha also from the same seat.Born on 23 November 1962, Om Birla completed his Masters in Commerce from Government Commerce College, Kota and the Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer.In 2003, he defeated Shanti Dhariwal, of the Congress by a margin of 10,101 votes, to win his first assembly election from Kota South. Subsequently, he won the ...
Mortal remains of Major Ketan Sharma reach his residence in Meerut
A large number of people gathered here at his residence on Tuesday to receive the mortal remains of Major Ketan Sharma.Major lost his life after an encounter broke out between the security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday. A terrorist was also killed during the encounter.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Army Chief General Bipin Rawat also paid their homage to Major Sharma.In another encounter, one security personnel and two terrorists were killed in the district on Tuesday.
Egypt's ousted President Morsi buried after courtroom death
Egypt's first democratically elected president, Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi, was buried under heavy security early on Tuesday, a day after his dramatic collapse and death inside a Cairo courtroom, his family and a member of his defense team said. Morsi's family attended funeral prayers in the mosque of Cairo's Tora prison, followed by the burial at a cemetery in the Egyptian capital's eastern district of Nasr City, said Abdul-Moneim Abdel-Maqsoud, a member of Morsi's defense team. Morsi's son Ahmed said security agencies refused to allow Morsi to be buried at the family's cemetery in his hometown in Sharqia province, and instead had him interred at a Cairo cemetery dedicated to prominent Islamists. Morsi, 67, hailed from Egypt's largest Islamist group, the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, and was elected president in 2012 in the country's first free elections following the ouster the year before of longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. The military toppled Morsi in 2013 after massive ...
Maha Govt presented 'misleading data' on farmer's crisis, economic survey: Former CM
Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders held a protest at Maharash Assembly over the issue of farm loan waiver and state government policies."The current government did not do much for the farmers, they have presented misleading statistics and data regarding farmer's crisis and today we are holding this protest to support the farmers. It's high time, the government should stop tampering numbers and bring out accurate data," former chief minister of Maharashtra and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan told ANI."We mentioned in the Congress manifesto to waive the outstanding loans of farmers, that's another major reason to hold this protest. The government should consider this key point and work in this direction" he added.The Monsoon session of state assembly began on Monday with the economic survey of Budget 2018-2019 being presented. It shows that the advance estimates of Maharashtra's economy are expected to grow by 7.5 per cent during 2018-2019, while the Indian economy .
Om Prakash Birla meets outgoing LS Speaker Sumitra Mahajan
NDA candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker's post Om Prakash Birla on Tuesday met the outgoing Speaker Sumitra Mahajan at her residence here."OP Birla Ji is an old friend. I felt very good that he has been selected as the NDA's candidate for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. He has earlier served as the treasurer of the Indian Parliamentary Group. I am sure that he will handle his responsibilities in the Lok Sabha very well," Mahajan told ANI.Birla defeated Congress' Ramnarain Meena by over 2.5 lakh votes from Kota (reserved) parliamentary seat in the recently concluded General Elections.His candidature has so far got the support of ten political parties including Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).YSRCP and BJD are not a part of the NDA coalition at the Centre but have extended their support to Birla's candidature.NDA has 352 MPs in the lower house of the Parliament and the BJP alone has 303 members.
Maharashtra: BSP workers get violent during review meeting, thrash leader
BSP general secretary and in-charge for the party's state affairs Sandeep Tajane on Tuesday faced the ire of workers, who accused him of taking money during the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, which damaged the prospects of party candidates.The meeting, which had been called to review the party's performance in the polls, plunged into chaos as the workers allegedly got violent and even beat up Tajane, as sources claimed."Even chairs were thrown at him and had his clothes torn off before he left the meeting venue," sources said, adding that councilor Chetan Pawar tried to intervene and control the situation but in vain.As compared to the last Lok Sabha polls, the BSP improved the tally this poll by winning 10 parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh but failed to open its account in Maharashtra.
Modi to meet party leaders on simultaneous polls
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be holding an all-party meeting on Wednesday to discuss "one nation, one election" among other key issues.
HK leader apologises for extradition crisis, vows to stay on
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam apologised Tuesday for the political unrest that has shaken Hong Kong, but the pro-Beijing chief executive refused to cave in to demands for her resignation. The semi-autonomous territory has been plunged into its biggest crisis in decades, with millions of people taking to the streets to demand the withdrawal of proposed legislation that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China. Lam suspended the bill on Saturday after two massive rallies that saw isolated bouts of violence between the police and some protesters. But that failed to quell public anger, and an even bigger rally Sunday drew over two million people, organisers said -- more than a quarter of the population. "I personally have to shoulder much of the responsibility. This has led to controversies, disputes and anxieties in society," Lam told a press conference. "For this I offer my most sincere apology to all people of Hong Kong." Protesters have demanded that the bill be fully ...
Trump campaign fires pollsters after mixed messaging
When President Donald Trump's internal polling suggested he was trailing Democrats in crucial states earlier this year, it did what any campaign would do: tried to bury the bad numbers. When the findings leaked to the media anyway, an infuriated Trump and his aides first disputed the poll's existence, then tried to dismiss its importance before finally firing some of the pollsters. The deception and muddled messaging are part reflexive: Trump and his team have made a habit of discounting embarrassing news as "fake." But the internal drama on the brink of Trump's formal reelection launch could also signal trouble ahead if staffers are skittish about being candid with a boss who has made "winning" a central part of his brand. "All news about the president's polling is completely false," campaign manager Brad Parscale said in a statement. "The president's new polling is extraordinary and his numbers have never been better." The episode was also a sobering reminder that for all the Trump .
Sonia, Mulayam among members administered oath on 2nd day
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav were among leaders who took oath as members of 17th Lok Sabha on Tuesday, with the House witnessing a virtual slogan-shouting contest between treasury and opposition benches. Gandhi, who retained the Rae Bareli constituency, took her oath in Hindi on the second day of the maiden session of the new Lok Sabha. Her son and Congress President Rahul Gandhi appeared to be capturing the moment on his mobile phone from the opposition benches. While there was loud thumping of desks by the Congress members, voices were heard from the BJP benches "greeting" Sonia Gandhi "for taking oath in Hindi". Immediately after her, BJP MP and former minister Maneka Gandhi was administered the oath and she and her sister-in-law Sonia Gandhi greeted each other with folded hands. Accompanied by his son and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, an ailing Mulayam, 79, was brought to the House in a wheel chair and was ...
Rouhani says world 'praises' Iran over US standoff
-President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday the world "praises" Iran over its standoff with Washington, and that the US had broken promises by abandoning a landmark nuclear deal that Tehran had continued to honour. "Today we are in a faceoff with America in which there is no one in the world that does not praise Iran," Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on state television. "Iran has been loyal to its signature, Iran has been loyal to international agreements, and the one standing against us today is the one that has trampled all pacts, agreements and international accords," he added. Iran is locked in a tense standoff with the US after Washington withdrew last year from the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed sweeping sanctions, even as its allies said Tehran had abided by the agreement's terms. Tensions have escalated ever since, with Washington bolstering its military presence in the region, blacklisting Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation and blaming Tehran ..
GFP's Sardesai says 'one nation, one election' initiative
The Goa Forward Party, an ally of the BJP, which has been opposing the latter's "one nation, one election" demand, Tuesday made a u-turn and said it supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi's poll initiative. Speaking at a Goa Revolution Day function in Margao, GFP president and state deputy chief minister Vijai Sardesai said imposition of model code of conduct multiple times for different polls was hampering development and "injecting laziness into the administration", and therefore a single poll for states and the country was ideal. In July last year, the GFP had opposed the initiative and said it was "against federalism". Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called a meeting of presidents of all parties represented in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha on June 19 to discuss the issue of 'one nation, one election', Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi had said Sunday.
Five-time WB MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to be Cong leader in LS
Five-time Congress MP from West Bengal, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, will be the party leader in the Lok Sabha, top party sources said Tuesday. Chowdhury's name was cleared by the top party leadership after which a letter of his appointment was handed over to the Lok Sabha secretariat, they said. The party, however, remained tight-lipped officially on his appointment. Chaudhary too feigned ignorance about his appointment. Asked about his appointment, he said the issue of who would lead the Congress in the Lower House of Parliament was not discussed in the party leaders' meeting at Sonia Gandhi's residence this morning. Chowdhury was part of the top Congress leaders' meeting at Gandhi's residence. The meeting was also attended by, among others, party leader K Suresh from Kerala, who too is likely to get an important role. The Congress failed to secure the post of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha as it did not get the requisite 10 per cent seats in the House required for the post. This .
Replies in Goa Assembly delayed wilfully: Kavlekar
Leader of the Opposition in the Goa Assembly Chandrakant Kavlekar, here on Tuesday, alleged that some departments wilfully delay replies to critical questions raised in the Assembly, depriving the Opposition opportunity to take on the treasury benches.
Pak plans to shift students of JuD schools to govt-run institutions
Pakistan plans to shift the students of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) to the government-run schools after an international terror financing watchdog raised objection over allocation of Rs 180 crore for these institutions. A senior government official told PTI on Tuesday that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had objected the Pakistani government's allocation of Rs 180 crore for running the JuD and FIF schools across the country. "The government could not satisfy the FATF about running a good number of seminaries and schools of JuD and FIF after taking over their control in March. Therefore, the Imran Khan administration is seriously considering shifting the students of these seminaries and schools to the government-run institutions," he said. The official said the FATF was apprehensive of the Pakistani government's move to allocate such a huge sum of money for the JuD and the FIF institutions. "It (FATF) ...